Roads made of surgical masks: Australian know-how
The unique building material for roads is lying around, literally, right under your feet, and you can't use it – a crime against nature, which is now going through difficult times. Studies show that 6.8 billion disposable masks are thrown away every day in the world, which turn into a mountain of garbage.
The scientists decided to take advantage of the situation and recycle part of this waste. The processed crushed stone is used to produce the so-called recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), for the production of this aggregate it is planned to use mask waste.
A team of scientists created various RCA recipes with the addition of shredded surgical masks in various proportions, which are composed of non-woven layers of plastic. As a result, the formula for the ideal composition of the mixture was derived in the ratio of 1% crushed masks to 99% RCA. The resulting material met the required road construction standards.
It was also found that "enrichment" The composition of the RCA mixture with disposable used masks improved its quality, making the structure more flexible and elastic.
Recycling surgical masks offers real engineering benefits. According to scientists, the construction of a two-lane road with a length of 1 km will require approximately 3 million masks, which is 93 tons of waste.
However, another problem arises – collection, delivery and recycling of masks to transform them into travel material. But if research is given due attention, as well as funding, then it is quite possible to influence the environmental consequences of the pandemic.